AIDS Deaths in America Drop

ATLANTA: New figures released Thursday show that AIDS deaths are down significantly for the first time. According to the Centers for Disease Control, deaths fell 13 percent in the first half of 1996 to about 22,000, down from 24,900 for the same period in 1995. At the same time, the growth rate for people diagnosed with the disease is slowing. Two percent more cases were diagnosed in 1995 compared to the previous year, less than half the five percent rate from 1993 to 1994. "This is one of the first bright spots we have seen in this epidemic," said Christopher Portelli, executive director of the National Lesbian and Gay Health Association. The CDC credits the drop to a combination of prevention and new treatments. Despite the good news, though, many involved in the fight remain skeptical the worst is necessarily over. "In my view, this decline is unfortunately only a lull," said Dr. Irvin S.Y. Chen, director of the AIDS Institute at UCLA. Even President Clinton avoided euphoria in commenting on the news, urging continued resilience in battling the disease. Much of the caution the latest figures have been met with can be traced to the fact that more than 200,000 Americans continue to live with the disease, many suffering slow, painful deaths. And despite the good news in the U.S., the disease continues to devestate the rest of the world. Estimates are that anywhere from 15 to 50 million people could be HIV positive in India by the year 2000. Meanwhile, some 60 percent of world's HIV-positive population live in Sub-Saharan Africa, where few can afford the expensive drug treatments that have had success against the disease.